Yes, what happened tonight... was a "Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals-standard job" carried out in the name of the "Reunion Movement."
The organizers were a handful of highly calculating local Infected from Lungmen. The participants were a large number of thuggish Infected hoping to get a cut, along with a few naïve fools.
A ragtag bunch like that could never have broken through to reach Oute, nor was there any need for Oute to send Specter into battle...
Some of this had been within Oute's expectations: he had guessed that someone would pull a "Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals-standard job." But there were also things he had only just realized: the consequences of the Reunion Movement recruiting indiscriminately showed themselves in every respect.
And regardless of the reasons, the result was the same—the bloodthirsty shark had not gotten a single bite of meat.
Once they were seated, Oute asked, "Chief Ch'en, what business did you wish to discuss?"
Ch'en said, "Given the grave situation at hand, Lungmen wishes to commission Rhodes Island for a job."
"..." Oute fell silent for a moment, then asked in return, "I believe I've made Rhodes Island's intention to leave quite clear."
Ch'en did not address the question. She merely continued at her own pace. "This job concerns the lives of the Infected in Lungmen's slums."
She noticed Oute's fingers twitch slightly and continued, "In the face of what is about to happen, Lungmen lacks sufficient armed strength."
"And the residents of the upper city are Lungmen's primary tax base. The Guard Department has no choice but to concentrate its manpower in the urban districts."
That was rather cryptic.
What did "what is about to happen" mean?
The phrasing was far too vague.
To Wei Yenwu and Ch'en, it referred to the Ursus-Yan border conflict that was already all